Kasandra+SinghLBF

Executive Summary
Data was downloaded from SurveyMonkey and analyzed on Friday, Sept. 19th. At that time 198 surveys had been submitted to the online program. The majority of respondents were female (62% female, 38% male). Ages ranged from 7 to 86. The majority of respondents had either some college, a bachelor's degree or a graduate degree. Initially, the multiple choice data was analyzed. Some major trends were seen in this data, including information about: Type of activity expected (passive such as listening and watching or active such as interaction with peers) - passive learning in general was found to be 'boring' whereas interaction of any kind contributed to interest. Location of the activity (formal class vs. field) - Field trips and unstructured activities were described more in the interesting experiences. Thought processes - higher order thought processes like creativity and critical thinking were noted more in 'interesting' situations.

After this data was analyzed, all of the 198 surveys were read and patterns were noted in both the boring conditions and fun/interesting situations. During reading, any qualities that were noted numerous times were written down as possible patterns. Out of these patterns, 10 were chosen to study in further detail. A random sample of surveys (75) were read through again thoroughly to note specific trends within the general patterns. Each of the surveys analyzed contained mention of at least one of the factors noted below: Instructor Performance Pace Class size Materials Relevance of Content Physical atmosphere Concentration Difficulty level of Content Location Interaction Relevance to life Type of thinking required

See Data analysis page for specific results.

What Makes Learning Boring?
1. **Instructor- If the instructor does not care, the students will not care.** It seemed that a factor in boring learning situations is the instructor. Many respondents claimed that the instructor's lack of motivation or unpreparedness made the environment boring. With statements such as 'Traveler's', "the instructor didn't relate well to college students" and soccer mom's " ...the teacher spoke in a monotone voice and never asked the class any questions to make sure we were following along in the lecture or to check for our understanding", it is clear that the instructor makes a significant difference for these respondents in making learning interesting. From the data of only the 75 responses thoroughly analyzed, the most widely stated factor (66% of those surveys) in boredom was that the instructor was either unskilled or unmotivated as a teacher. (See Reasons for Boredom Graph on Data page.)

2. **Performance Type - Listening and note taking are boring.** Another major trend, as evidenced by both the multiple choice and free response questions, was that in the boring condition students felt they were definitely expected only to watch and/or listen and not to interact or actively participate. In the multiple choice section, 172 respondents (86%) stated that they were definitely expected to listen and 134 (68%) said they were definitely expected to watch. Conversely, 131 respondents (66%) said that they were not at all expected to interact with the instructor and 164 (83%) said they were either not at all or only somewhat expected to interact with peers. 'El Cajon Ed' says it succinctly when stating that in the boring experience "there was insufficient interaction between students, teacher, and material being taught." (See Boring Graph.)

3. **Materials- Powerpoints, slides and videos can easily get boring.** Seventeen respondents of the 75 said that only video, PowerPoints and Slides were used in presentations/lectures. No participants stated that any type of manipulatives or realia was used in the boring conditions. This is opposed to 28 responses (n in the interesting/fun situations, which cited manipulatives/realia was used. "RJH" states that the "Instructor used PowerPoint to show "how" to diagnose and resolve server problems." This is an example in which a powerpoint is not necessarily the best approach since PowerPoint cannot really show how to resolve server problems. 'Riverdog' says, "The online slides were boring and did not use any examples." (See reasons for Boredom graph.)

4. **Pace - If the instructor is going to slow or to quickly through material, it becomes boring and/or frustrating.** Many respondents listed the length of the presentation as being the main contributor to their boredom. Participants either noted the lectures as being too long or the pace as being to fast to follow or comprehend. Some examples include Carol, who stated that in her boring experience "the duration of the class was 4 hours with one ten minute break" Other surveys straightforwardly state that their classes were just plain "long". (See Reasons for Boredom graph.)

5. **Concentration - If a person just can't concentrate, they will be bored.** "Well, it took place on the first day back from summer vacation and that was an obstacle already." "I could not get my head into learning that day, regardless of the subject matter. I really just wanted to go surfing." Quite a few of the responses, such as these, were based on students internal inability to concentrate. When students feel there is something more interesting to do, they may feel bored with the current event, even if it is not an innately boring concept. Fourteen of the seventy-five surveys graphed had statements similar to these. (See Reasons for Boredom graph.)

6. **Difficulty - If the material is too difficult or too easy, a student will not be interested in learning.** Some participants said that the information was difficult to understand or that it was too much information given at once. One respondent, 'Jobber' states, "I felt as though I was the stupidest kid in the class. All the other students knew what was going on and understood the teacher's style, and I was lost." Another respondent, 'Lighningblast' says, "It felt like information overload." People tend to lose interest if they do not understand the topic. (See Reason for Boredom graph.)

Other smaller trends include mentions from respondents that the class sizes were large, the content of the classes were irrelevant to their careers or interests, that the class was difficult or that the content was something they were very familiar with already. (See Reason for Boredom Graph).

What Makes Learning Fun?
1. **Instructor - If the instructor cares, the student will care.** This made a difference in both. Many people cited the instructor as being enthusiastic and skilled in the fun/interesting experience. 'Linn' says, "the instructor really enjoyed the topic he was teaching and therefore made me excited to learn it as well." It really seems that excitement can be contagious and it's the instructors job to spread this excitement to all the students. (See Reason for Interest graph.)

2. **Location - Classrooms are not as fun as field trips.** From the multiple choice responses, a slight trend was noticed in that fun/interesting events took place more often in field trips and unstructured events. Less than 1% of boring events took place in field trips/unstructured events versus 25% of interesting experiences happening in these environments. See Location graph. Also, formal classes were more often the location of boring events (130 respondents, 66%) than the interesting events (97 respondents, 49%), although both were high, which is to be expected since most learning events in general take place in formal class. (See Location Graph.)

3. **Real Life Application/Relevance - If it applies to real life, it matters to the student enough to make them interested.** More realia was used in the interesting/fun experience. Also, many of the participants stated that they were interested because the information was relevant to their careers or interests. in response to the question about why the experience was fun, 'Jeff O' states, "The content was relevant to me right now. It was new information I did not know and really needed to know." People want to know why they are learning something and how they can use their new knowledge. (See Reason for Interest graph.)

4. **Interaction- When students are interacting with anything at all, their interest increases.** Many of the respondents mentioned group work or teamwork as contributing to their learning. In the multiple choice quesitons, 127 of the 198 respondents (64%) said that they were definitely expected to interact with peers in their fun/interesting learning experience. This is in opposition to the 19 respondents (Less than 1%) who gave the same answer for the boring experience. A respondent named 'Scientist' illustrates the idea that interaction makes learning fun by stating, "The interactive nature of the class made it easier to internalize the information and actually understand the processes, not just mere memorization." (See Boring Graph and Interesting Graph on Data page.)

5. **Think Critically/Creatively - When students are engages in higher level thinking such as creativity and critical thinking, interest is high.** In their boring experiences, 137 respondents said they were not at all expected to be creative (70%) and 147 said they were only somewhat or not at all expected to think critically (74%). However, in the fun/interesting condition 119 (60%) were definitely expected to be creative and 121 (61%) were definetely expected to think critically. This is active thought processes, which require more attention and energy and may motivate participants to enjoy learning. (See Boring and Interesting graphs on the data page for more info.)

Implications
Some factors are not always in our control such as concentration of the student, class size, etc. However, it's necessary to note what is in our control and apply what we know about making an experience fun. We know from the surveys that active, engaging learning is fun. Note taking, listening and sitting still bore a student whereas teamwork will motivate people to participate. We know that real life application and bringing in materials that connect the learning with the real world is positive toward making learning fun so more realia should be brought into the classroom. Field trips and less structured environments are also beneficial, so whenever an opportunity arises to make a learning experience out of non-classroom environments it should be done. We also know that thinking creatively and critically is considered fun and so challenging problems, preferably pertaining to the real world should be given to students often. Still, we know that if a class is too difficult, students will become bored and uninterested, so problems should be carefully stated so that they are not too difficult. Above all, we know that an instructor's attitude makes a difference so we should always be sure to present a positive, enthusiastic attitude and be well-prepared for any class we have to teach.